~Our Mission~
Building a Joyful, Vocal, and Involved Community through Song
MISSION
PEAK
CHAMBER
SINGERS
On a mission to engage and inspire audiences through the transformational power of choral music, the Mission Peak Chamber Singers (MPCS) have long been part of the Bay Area choral scene. Established as the Ohlone Chamber Singers in the 1980’s, Mission Peak Chamber Singers struck out as an independent non-profit organization in 2014 after California community colleges withdrew support for choral arts. Now reliant upon the generosity of donors, fundraising and concert ticket sales, MPCS champions the cause of music as a community enterprise and as a medium of social change. Music is our gift to you, and we recognize and are deeply grateful for the steadily increasing support from our audience and donors!
Each year’s season gets underway with the beloved and long-standing "Christmas at the Mission" December concert, followed by lighter musical fare in March and a season finale concert in May. This past August, our community broke new ground with an invitation to members of the public to join a non-auditioned, fee-free, open ensemble, where people of all ages and all backgrounds can share the joys of singing with a group in a welcoming and comfortable environment. Thus, the East Bay People’s Choir (EBPC) was born! With growing support from new and loyal enthusiasts, we look forward to continuing performances that bring passionate excellence in the choral art to audiences this season!
Artistic Team
Ofer dal Lal
Artistic Director
Ofer dal Lal is a conductor living in the San Francisco Bay Area and working internationally. Currently in his fourth year with Mission Peak Chamber Singers, Mr. dal Lal also leads the San Francisco Bay Area Chamber Choir and WomenSing. He serves on the board of Livermore Valley Opera and has served on the faculty of California State University East Bay, teaching choral conducting for graduate and undergraduate students.
Mr. dal Lal first came into prominence as the musical director and conductor of the Jerusalem Oratorio Choir – an organization of five choirs consisting of 150 singers and one of Israel’s leading non-professional choirs. He relocated to California after completing a master’s degree magna cum laude in conducting at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel-Aviv.
Among the ensembles he has conducted are the world-renowned Stuttgart Chamber Choir and Classical Philharmonic Orchestra (Germany), Berlin Radio Choir (Germany), Oregon Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra (Oregon, USA), Salt Lake Vocal Artists (Utah, USA), Israel Philharmonic Choir (Israel), Voces Nordicae (Sweden), Studium Canticum (Cagliari, Italy) and Manado State University Choir (Indonesia).
In August 2013 he was selected as one of 12 conductors from all over the world to take part in a special project entitled “Conducting 21C: Musical Leadership for a New Century”, part of the Music and Humanity Symposium in Stockholm. In 2012 Ofer dal Lal was invited to conduct the Jerusalem Academy Chamber Choir in their performance of the Israeli premiere of “Loquimini Veritatem” by composer Sarah Shoham, at the opening concert of the Mediterranean Zimriya (World Assembly of Choirs in Israel).
Janet Holmes
Accompanist
Janet Holmes received her B.A. from USC and an M.M. from Mills College in Oakland. She has sung throughout the Bay Area area in recitals and as soprano soloist with regional orchestras. Janet participated in the Oregon Bach Festival with Helmut Rilling where she was one of two American soloists to work with Frederica von Stade. She has recorded with Hal Leonard Music Publishers, the Australian Broadcasting Company and KUSC in Los Angeles. Janet is a member of the Berkeley Piano Club and has also served as program chair for San Francisco Chapter of the National Association of the Teachers of Singing. In addition, she serves as an adjudicator for regional vocal competitions.
Janet served as the accompanist for Ohlone College Chamber Singers for 20 years and as the Vocal Director for the Ohlone Summerfest musicals including “Chorus Line,” “Into the Woods,” “The Music Man,” “Miss Saigon,” “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and “Sweet Charity.” Janet currently teaches voice at Ohlone College in Fremont, at her own studio in San Ramon and is the Music Director for the First Presbyterian Church in Livermore, CA.